Solidarity with Students and Teachers in Chile

United Auto Workers Local 2865, representing 12,000 student workers at the University of California, stands in solidarity with the high school students and teachers and the university students in struggle in Chile.

In recent weeks, we have been inspired by the example of democratic, participatory student organizations and the Chilean teacher’s union, who have mobilized hundreds of thousands of students and teachers to defend the right to an equitable public education against neoliberal state retrenchment and the interests of capital.

Over two hundred schools continue to be occupied by students, the government’s proposal has been rejected, and further mobilizations have been called. Students are calling for the full nationalization of the educational system. We identify with their struggle because here in California, we have experienced the effects of “austerity” on public education in recent years: ballooning tuition costs for students, lay-offs for workers, cuts to programs, and a student body less and less representative of California’s diverse population.

We recognize that the attack on public education is an attack on the working-class and people of color and must not stand. Like our comrades in Chile, and in recent months, in Puerto Rico and South Korea, we stand firm in our belief that the crisis in public education is a crisis of priorities and that the right to a decent education and work with dignity are not negotiable. We wish them a great victory and stand united in struggle.